This blog is dedicated to innovative teaching and learning through the use of technology and digital media that engages students in learning while providing them with a 21st Century educational experience.

Last week I attended my first Twitter chat around a hashtag. There were about 1,500 people in attendance. Keeping up with the flow of conversation was so challenging that I didn’t even try to participate. Also, expect "tweet overload" if you’re following a conference or symposium on Twitter. I expect to have better success this week because of this article. It contains excellent tips with graphics on using Twitter in these situations. It goes beyond the “how” to include the “why,” which always helps me grasp new learning. You’re welcome.

The Paperless Classroom with Google Docs by - Eric Curts Table of Contents Overview How to name documents and folders How to choose sharing options: Edit, Comment, and View How to share a document with specific people How to share a document as a link How to use folders How to create folders for

"“Am I writing to myself?” That’s what I used to wonder when I first started teaching Spanish online a year ago. My learning management system, message boards, and group emails were impersonal and unresponsive—more like writing in my diary than sharing information with my students. I never knew for certain who read and understood my announcements or received an (electronic) handout or assignment directions."

Even though there is always a mind-boggling amount of invaluable info shared on the Discovery Education Network (DEN), one of the best resources available is the Spotlight on Strategies (S.O.S) series, a must-see DEN favorite designed to provide teachers with simple yet effective instructional practices for using digital content to support student learning.

So, enough of that… Let’s fast forward to the good stuff…

This week’s spotlight: What Did They Say?, a visual literacy strategy that focuses on using content-based images to practice and reinforce writing and vocabulary skills while sharing subject matter knowledge.

Did you miss the Google Docs free online event on Simple K 12 today? Find resources from my Writing Workshop session, designed to help educators learn how to thoughtfully incorporate digital writing into the curriculum.

What do you think of when you hear the word "collaboration"? Do you associate it with the frustrating clunkiness of trying to synchronize everyone's work? Many collaboration tools require an account to even get started before you benefit from their collaboration features. That in itself negates the act of swift collaborating, with people coming from…

Time for the next tech-isode in my new “Tech It Up Tuesday” series in which I will share an edtech tool, app, site or other resource that can be utilized in the educational setting.

Regardless if it’s print or digital format, many students and adults alike love reading comics. But did you know this form of recreational reading can also be a powerful teaching resource? Yep, it’s true! I don’t know about you, but there’s nothing better than captivating another’s attention using comic strip style visuals and/or humor as the vehicle. Well, the survey says….. A super cool tool that provides students with the opportunity to do just that is Bitstrips for Schools. Most importantly, this web-based resource also enables them to demonstrate knowledge and creativity about a particular topic, regardless of artistic ability, using a fun setup.

Happy Tuesday, edtech fans! Yeah, I realize we’re about 72 hours from having a TGIF moment, but the good news is you have three days left in the week to incorporate this super cool tool into classroom activities!

So, here it is: The next time you need an engaging prewriting or postreading activity for your students, then be sure to check out the Cube Creator from ReadWriteThink, an interactive that provides students with a visual organizer to summarize information in one of the following categories...

The Pecha Kucha presentation format can be a great way to provide an overview of a topic. PechaKuchapresentations consist of 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each. This tends to produce a high-energy, fast-paced presentation. The format forces you to leave out the parts of your presentation that listeners wish you would skip.

Even if a speaker or topic is incredibly boring, you know it will be over in exactly 6 minutes and 40 seconds. If only all meetings could be that way!

Formative assessment is an important tool teachers can use to target students' learning needs. When teachers know what students know (or don't know), they can better adjust their teaching to meet the kids right at their level. These digital formative assessment tools can help you do the job.

The Apple logo is iconic and used frequently by fans, but if you’re looking to type the Apple logo () on an iPhone or iPad you won’t find it in the standard keyboard options or special characters. Indeed, for the time being anyway, the Apple logo does not have an easily accessible character option in the iOS keyboard (it probably deserves a place in the Emoji keyboard at least). That doesn’t mean you can’t type out the Apple icon from an iOS device though, you’ll just need to use one of the following tricks.

It’s Tuesday, so you know what that means… It’s time to “Tech It Up” with another cool tool that can be utilized in the educational setting.

So, let’s get right to it. This week’s shout out goes to Photos for Class, a site that’s ideal for safely searching for images that can be incorporated into classroom lessons, activities and projects.

Besides providing G-rated images via Flickr and proprietary filters, downloaded images also include citations that are automatically generated by the web tool. Attribution includes name of the author and photo, a link to the original photo and the name and type of license as well as a link to the licensing terms. How cool is that? No more worrying about the copyright police banging on your door. Photos for Class has got you covered!

One of the best resources available is the Spotlight on Strategies (S.O.S) series, a must-see DEN favorite designed to provide teachers with simple yet effective instructional practices for using digital content to support student learning.

To date, there are 70+ teacher tried and tested strategies featured on the DEN blog. This week’s spotlight: 6-Word Stories, a digital media strategy that focuses on summarization skills related to an image.

Innovation… Versatility… Performance… What teacher doesn’t want to provide the best technology has to offer for students? But with a plethora of choices, sometimes it’s overwhelming trying to determine what device best suits the needs of all learners. So, what should educators choose—the power of a laptop or the compact, lightweight portability of a tablet? Well, it’s no longer necessary to settle for one option when the best of both worlds are at your fingertips.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.